


Start Over

by Zoe13



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 08:03:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2262114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoe13/pseuds/Zoe13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke and Michael hate each other when they meet and Michael knows it's because they both like Calum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Start Over

Michael Clifford was sure of three things in life: one, that music was the best thing in the entire world and something he needed to be doing for the rest of his life, two, that he had a crush on his best friend Calum Hood, and three, that he despised Luke Hemmings. 

The last fact was a fairly new development, had a lot to do with the second fact, and had started because of the first. Michael and Calum wanted to start a band and Calum had found Luke's YouTube account. For some reason he'd become obsessed with the boy's voice and told Michael that he had to be their lead singer. They didn't tell Luke their intentions when they introduced themselves and Michael was glad because he immediately put his foot down. Luke was as enthralled with Calum as Calum was with his voice and Michael wouldn't stand for any of that. Music and Calum was all he had in the world. 

"But he's so good!" Calum had whined.

"But we can't be in a band if he and I don't get along," Michael had said firmly, and, to his relief, Calum _hadn't_ told Michael to leave then so Luke could be in the band. After all, Luke sang _and_ played guitar and Michael's singing was shit. With him in the band Calum would have to do all the singing.

So yes. Michael hated Luke and Calum had shut up about him. Michael was quite happy to live with his three facts in peace. 

Until a jam session with Calum where Michael came over to find Luke perched happily on the couch, grinning like the asshole he was.  

"Luke's here to play with us!" Calum said happily. Michael mentally killed Luke seven different ways (seven for luck in succeeding) and then promptly dragged Calum to the kitchen. 

"You agreed that he wouldn't be in the band!" Michael hissed. 

""I haven't invited him into the band," Calum said innocently. "I just invited him over to play some music. We all have almost identical music taste, you know."

Michael gritted his teeth and stormed back to the livingroom. 

"Hey," Luke said, way too cheerfully. 

"Hi," Michael ground out, plopping onto the floor and pulling his guitar out of its case. 

"I thought we could play some video games first," Calum said. Michael stared at him incredulously.

"Cool!" said Luke, scrambling for a controller. Calum only had two and Michael almost snapped the neck of his guitar in anger when they started a game and left him to watch. He knew Calum was only trying to make them be friends but what if he realized Luke liked him? Luke _was_ actually an amazing singer and he played guitar. What would Calum need Michael around for?

Michael would have stormed out long ago but he didn't want to leave them alone. They were teasing each other playfully and pushing at each other and it was just. Ick. 

They didn't play music at all and Michael stormed home the minute Luke was gone.

_______

"Hey, it's Mr Grumpyface," Luke chirped.

"Shut up Hemmings," Michael glowered at him. Luke laughed and threw an arm around Calum. Michael had never hated anyone more. 

Calum had the nerve to look disappointed in them. It had been three weeks; he should have gotten used to it. They had been tearing at each other every day, both fighting over chances to sit by Calum or play video games with him. They still hadn't played music because when Michael suggested it Luke said no and when Luke suggested it Michael said no, and Calum seemed too afraid to suggest it. Michael hadn't done anything with Calum alone and it pissed him off. 

"So, music today?" Luke asked. 

"No," Michael said automatically. 

"I thought music meant 'everything' to you," Luke sneered at him. 

"It does," Michael said. "So I don't want to hear you mutilate it."

Luke looked genuinely hurt and Michael put it down as another victory. 

"Video games it is, then," Calum interrupted. He gave the controllers to them, though. 

"No," Luke said, crossing his arms.

"What, worried I'll whoop your ass?" Michael grinned at him. 

"As if," Luke sneered. "Bring it on."

Ten minutes later they were swearing and shoving at each other violently, not going more than half a minute without one accusing the other of cheating. 

"There is no way in hell that I'm letting you beat me," Luke ground out. Michael smirked as he realized the sunshiny persona was gone.

"Too bad," he said. "Shit!"

Luke laughed obnoxiously beside him and Michael repressed the urge to tackle the other boy and hit him in the face.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Luke yelled at him. 

"You're in _my_ way!"

Suddenly the screen went blank and they swore at the same time. Calum was holding the plug and he looked pissed. 

"You two are idiots," he said. "You have absolutely no reason to not get along!"

Their separate crushes on Calum had been an unspoken understanding and that passed between them as they glowered at one another. 

"I don't need one," Michael scoffed. 

"I don't think anybody likes Michael," Luke said. 

That hit a tender spot and Michael stood to his feet. 

"I'm so done with your bullshit, Hemmings!" he spat, throwing the controller down and clenching his fists. 

"You're just full of bullshit!" Luke threw back at him. 

"At least I'm not ugly!"

"And who says you're not? Your grandma?!"

"I hate you!" Michael screamed at him. 

"I hate you too!" Luke yelled in his face. 

They turned their backs on each other in sync and stormed out different doors. 

_______

It took a full week but Calum finally got them into the same room and picked a song for them to play. Luke was even better at singing in person and it was pissing Michael off. 

"Do you sing?" Luke asked coldly when Calum kept whispering to him to be nice. 

"No," Michael said shortly.

"He's really good," Calum said. "I just can't get him to do it."

Michael smiled and felt his cheeks get warm. 

"You'd say that about anyone," Luke said. 

Calum laughed but he didn't deny it, and Michael's cheeks flushed. That stung.

"What now, Calum?" he asked instead. 

_______

Michael's dad called and that always left him feeling like shit, so he spontaneously headed over to Calum's house. He heard voices as he entered the house and wondered if Calum was watching a movie. 

"I know Michael can be hard to get along with," he heard Calum say. "It's easy to rile him up by accident. But...I shouldn't be telling you this but he's always felt abandoned. His dad ditched him and his mum when he was younger. He has a tendency to feel...inadequate, like he's not good enough. He covers it up with sarcasm and anger."

Michael was seething. How dare Calum tell someone else that? He'd barely trusted _him_ with that! He rounded the corner and came face to face with Calum and- 

Luke. Calum was spilling Michael's secrets to _Luke Hemmings_ and they hadn't invited Michael over. How long had they been hanging out alone? Were they dating?

Calum looked guilty as Michael stared at him, stricken.

"How could you?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. 

"Michael, I was trying to help him understand-" Calum started. 

"Michael-" Luke said, but Michael cut him off. 

"Fine, Luke. Fine. You win. You get to lord all of that over me, you get Calum, you get the goddamn band.  I'm done."

Luke looked genuinely upset and it made Michael more angry. Couldn't he just take it graciously?

He turned and left and they let him go without another word.

_______

He ignored Calum's texts and calls and avoided them at school, but he couldn't help but watch when they weren't looking. Calum looked a bit worried and Luke wasn't as sunshiny as usual. Michael didn't like it- Luke didn't look like Luke without a smile on his face- but why did he care? Luke got everything Michael wanted and Michael got nothing but a stressed out mom and a shitty dad who lived on the other side of the country. Or somewhere around there. 

He played guitar all alone in his room and started doubting the second thing he had been sure of. He still wanted Calum as a friend but...interacting with other people had made him realize that he didn't understand friendships and that what he felt for Calum was nothing more than that. All he had known was that Calum was the most important person in his life.  

But no matter what he wanted from Calum, Luke had taken him away. 

Then one day, about two weeks later, he answered the door to find Luke standing outside. He had his hands in his pockets and was shuffling his feet. 

"Yes?" Michael asked in his best polite voice.

"Can I, um, talk to you? For a minute?"

Michael sighed. "Come in."

Luke followed him inside and stared around him as Michael shut the door. 

"You can sit," Michael said, sitting on the worn couch. Luke sat on the couch, a foot or two away from Michael. 

"I uhm...I owe you an apology."

"Luke..." Michael started, not even entirely sure what he was going to say. Luke cut him off. 

"I do. I know you had this sort of happy place with Calum and playing music and I just barged in and tried to rip it from you. I don't even know who started it but I definitely gave it as good as I got without an excuse. All I can say for myself is that I was meanest when what you said sort of...played on insecurities I have." Luke folded his hands in his lap and frowned. "We have a lot in common. I feel like we should be friends but we're not because I'm an asshole."

"I am too," Michael said weakly. "Excuses or not I was an asshole too."

Luke gave him a small smile. "Can we do something, then?"

"What?"

"Can we be friends?" Luke asked. He looked so nervous, Michael couldn't help but feel bad for him. 

"Let's start over," he agreed. 

"Well." Luke turned to face him and cleared his throat. "Hi. I'm a competitive asshole with a music obsession."

Michael giggled and shook his hand. "I think we're long lost twins," he said. "That's my name too."

_______

After that they were practically inseparable. Calum joked about having to wedge his way in between them but Michael knew he was happy. They all hung out together and in various pairs and finally got over the competitiveness and jealousy. 

Luke told Michael that his grandma was right about him being pretty and Michael wondered about the flush he felt on his own cheeks when they all laughed. It was a good flush, not an embarrassed one, but confusing all the same. 

Hearing Luke sing made Michael want to sing even more but also reminded him of how shitty he was at it. He practiced at home alone, though, where he could sing as loud as he wanted and not subject any innocents to the sound. 

He was practicing one day when Luke came in.

He stopped, embarrassed as Luke stared at him. 

"Sorry, I- uh, let myself in," Luke said.

Michael shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry you had to hear that," he said awkwardly.

"What? No, Michael, Calum was right. You're really good!"

"You think so?" Michael asked. He suddenly felt as if the world was rotating around that question.

"Yeah, it's fantastic. We should do a duet!"

"What, now?" Michael asked, still shocked. 

"Yeah!"

Luke started rattling off song ideas and Michael realized he was in deep shit. He'd been wrong about Calum but he knew he wasn't wrong about Luke. He really, really liked him. 

 _I wish I'd kept hating him,_ he thought miserably as he remembered why they'd started fighting in the first place. Luke liked Calum.

_______

Michael wasn't sure what to expect when Ashton came over. A shirt that shade of purple was definitely not it, though. 

"He doesn't like FIFA," Luke said tragically when they discussed him later. 

"Someone's gotta stay sane for us," Calum said. 

"His shirt was purple," Luke said. 

"Your glasses were lime green when you met him, you hypocrite," Calum said. Michael wondered why he was so adamant.

"Against my better judgment," Michael sighed, "I vote yes."

"Eh, what the heck," Luke shrugged. Normally Calum made fun of them for suddenly agreeing so often, but for some reason he let it slide.

_______

Calum was suddenly nice and normal when Ashton was around and started speaking for him. 

"No, Michael, he's not going to sign a contract with a fountain pen dipped in his own blood."

"No, Luke, he's not going to buy a human gerbil ball with you."

"He's not making any unbreakable vows either, Michael."

"Luke, Ashton doesn't need a pet fish- take it back."

Ashton seemed amused and even fond of it and Michael suddenly worried for Luke. He liked Ashton and even thought that he and Calum were sort of cute together, but Luke liked Calum and Michael liked Luke so he wanted him happy. 

It was only a few weeks before Ashton asked Calum out. Michael felt devastated on Luke's behalf. Calum texted them to tell them so Michael headed to Luke's house to comfort him. He might have to go through his own heartbreak alone but Luke sure as hell wasn't. 

Luke looked perfectly fine when he got there. Actually, he looked a bit worried but that made no sense. 

"I was just coming over to your house to see how you were doing," he told Michael when they curled up on his bed.

"How I was doing? I don't care if they're together," Michael said. "I wanted to make sure that you're okay." 

"Why were you worried about me?" Luke asked, turning into his side to look at Michael. 

"Because I know you must feel really hurt since you like Calum," Michael said simply. 

"I- what?" Luke blinked, confused. "I was worried about you because _you_ like Calum. I don't like Calum like that. We're just friends."

"What? I don't like Calum either! I thought I did but I just didn't understand friendships."

They stared at each other for a moment. Then they burst out laughing. 

"Oh my god," Luke wheezed. "We are so dumb. I had no idea- and you thought I- but I really..." he trailed off. 

"Really what?" Michael asked quietly. 

"I uhm...I like you. I was mostly mean to you because I was upset that you didn't like me. And then we became friends and...I just really like you, Michael." He bit his lip shyly and Michael couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. 

"I like you too," he whispered.

Luke's eyes lit up and he smiled widely."Perfect," he said, and he leaned in and pressed his lips to Michael's. Michael sighed happily and kissed him back, threading his fingers in his hair. 

"This is gonna be the best band ever," he said when Luke pulled back. 

Luke just laughed. 


End file.
